The petition has
also sought direction to the authorities to take steps to use 'Totaliser'
for counting of votes.

The Supreme Court on Friday sought a response from the
government on a plea seeking a direction to the Centre and the
Election Commission for common electoral rolls for Parliament,
assembly and local body polls to save public money and manpower.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M
Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud tagged the plea, filed by Delhi
BJP leader Ashwani Upadhyay, with a similar petition pending
before it.

The petition has also sought direction to the authorities to
take steps to use 'Totaliser' for counting of votes.

'Totaliser' is a device which allows votes cast in about 14
polling booths to be counted together.

It referred to the provisions of the Conduct of Elections Rules,
1961, under which votes in the EVMs are to be counted polling
station-wise and said this led to situations where voting
pattern in various localities or pockets become known to
everyone.

The petitioner has also proposed that post offices be used as
the nodal agency for voter registration and verification, saying
it will not only overcome the issue of duplication and confusion
but also save huge public money and manpower.

"There is a non-uniformity of practice amongst states, which
causes duplication of essentially same task between the two
different constitutional bodies, that is the Election Commission
and State Election Commissions, that entails the same effort and
huge expenditure again by the states," the PIL said.

The plea sought that elections be held on a Sunday, like in
several other countries, to enable maximum voter turnout.